Well I’m back and I have to say it was a wonderful honeymoon! Lots of beautiful things to see and experience and so worth all of the headache it took to get there. I did learn a few valuable lessons along the way. One thing I wish I did was pack lightly. Since we were in Europe and traveled to several cities in a short amount of time, I had to lug my suitcase with me, plus a backpack everywhere! Did I really need to pack 4 dresses and 4 pairs of shoes? 

One thing that I’m glad I did was pack one light jacket and one heavy jacket and an umbrella. Though we checked the weather a few days before we left, even the weather report couldn’t predict the sudden cold shift that affected a lot of Europe. While we were expecting sunny skies with 60-70 degrees weather, we got rain and temperatures up to 51 degrees. Without my one warm sweater and an umbrella, I would have been so cold. 

Another thing that I would advise is to put together a little toiletry see through kit and keep it in one place. I had my toothbrush in one bag and my soap in another and it drove me crazy! Keep everything together and remember to pack things like toilet paper and seat covers just in case.  

And if you get motion sickness and are crazy enough to ride boats, plane and trains like me, either pack motion sickness medicine or one of those special wristbands. Try sea band or the psi band which prevents sickness and nausea by pushing down on an acupressure point on your wrists.

I had a memorable trip and I’m sure you will too! Just remember it’s easy to get lost in the romance of your honeymoon but coming prepared will make everything all the more better. 

1. Pottery Barn just introduced its luggage collection, and I’m so excited! Check out their new stylish collection.

2. If you have trouble sleeping in new places, check out the new alarm clock everyone’s talking about. Brookstone’s Travel Tranquil Moments alarm clock is a clock, sound machine and voice memo recorder all in a compact style so that you can take with you where ever you go.

3. Tired of all those distorted, squished photos of the two of you? Bring along the Gorillapod so you won’t have to worry about who’s going to take your picture. Just attached your camera to this funny looking but useful tripod. (L.L. Bean, $22)

4. Planning on bringing home a ton of gifts for friends and family? These chic, reusable shopping bags fold up into a tiny little pouch that’s great for packing them up and taking them out to fill with all those great gifts!

Black and white are a classic pair that can easily transform any wedding into a modern affair. Add them to your wedding decor for a simple and easy way to bring glamor back to your special day!

Camilla canisters from Pottery Barn are showing up in Halloween fashion but they also make your candy bar modern and sweet.  Pottery Barn Black Candelabra and stylish Flip Video Camera meld fun and function to make this black and white event complete.

This Two-Tone dress from White House Black Market and this handsome MW tux from Brides will keep your wedding in style.  And I love this black tie bouquet from Martha Stewart!

Invite them to this contemporary gathering with Dotted Floral Wedding Invitations. This Black and white round cake (photo from Brides) is a work of art, almost too pretty to eat!

Groom’s cakes date all the way back to the Victorian Era in England and then found its way to the United States where it gained popularity in the South.  It was believed that if a young woman slept with a slice of this cake under her pillow, she would dream about the man she would one day marry.

Today, they are a part of weddings everywhere.  In contrast to the typical wedding white variety, groom’s cakes “take the cake” with its often creative and unique styles and flavors. Here are a few I found that may be right for the man in your life.

1) For the guys who love video games, this Game Cube from Brides.com would be a sweet dream come true.

2) These Cheeseburger and Pepsi designs from Pink Cake Box bring wedding cakes to a whole ‘nother level!

3) For those grooms with a sweet tooth, how about trying this Pez dispenser Wedding Cake? (Photo from the Knot)

4) This one’s for the fisherman. This cake from Sugar, a Northern Oklahoma bakery, depicts a fisherman’s fresh catch in a very creative cake.

(Information about Groom’s cakes from: Martha Stewart Weddings and Wikipedia.com.)

Beautiful and relatively inexpensive this Kissing Hearts necklace from Fossil make a charming gift for you or your bridesmaids.

Show off pictures from your honeymoon and wedding in these designer frames by Umbra.

Bobbi flats from Kate Spade are stylish and comfortable and will take you from your wedding day to the honeymoon and beyond.

This salad server set from Designer Things is modern and chic. It’ll make even the most mundane activity, serving salad, an act of style.

Invite guests with Letterpress for a look of luxury! Vintage Swirls Wedding Invitation.

I’ve found a whole bunch of cool wedding things for you to browse through. Like how about wearing sneakers on your wedding day or would you ever get married at a fast food restaurant? Check out the fun finds I found this week!

1) Celebrity wedding goddess Mindy Weiss planned a wedding where her bride switched into these Steve Madden shoes. She said it made cool photos and was like sneakers with heels. I think Stargaze the silver sandal on the right would be perfect for a seaside wedding.

2) Three couples got married in a row at White Castle, a fast food restaurant chain. Talk about a budget wedding-can I get an order of fries with that?

3) If you and your girlfriends love the Harajuku girls from Gwen Stefani’s video and album, check out these Harajuku Lovers fragrances from Sephora. They’d make unique gifts for your bridesmaids and flower girl too!

4) Take these gorgeous journals from Paper Source with you on your honeymoon and let them inspire you to record all those memorable memories of being newlyweds!

Although I didn’t have one of these, I did put together a few necessary “just in case” items and stored them all in a large Ziploc bag. It included pins–for those unfortunate wedding attire mishaps–hair pins, perfume, band-aids for anything that I was hoping wouldn’t happen, my earrings, tissues and checks to pay my hairstylist and makeup artist. This worked well for me, but in case you want to be even more prepared for the unexpected there are a variety of kits you can buy.

Target has one that sells for $49.99 and includes things I didn’t think of, such as hairspray, static remover and clear nail polish.

With You in Mind, Inc. also makes kits from $54.95 for the groom (including things he might not think about packing ,such as cuff links and socks) and the bridal party.

Abernook also sells kits ($50) for the bride, groom and bridesmaids that can be used for the wedding day and afterward for the honeymoon. And Ready Set Bride also has a truly chic kit by Roxy for $68.

If these seem too expensive, you can always make your own kit. Check out The Knot’s article, “Planning: The Bride’s Emergency Kit” for ideas on what you’ll need.

We’ve rounded up five great sites offering tips, tricks and advice to make sure you have picture perfect skin for the big day!

• Find the best facial to suit your skincare needs at Brides.com.
• Makeup artist Ruth Lawlor offers her tips for glowing skin and flawless makeup on your wedding day.
• The Knot knows how to get the perfect faux tan to compliment that stunning white dress.
• Find best kiss-proof lipstick on Allure’s master list to make sure your photos come out picture perfect!
• Grooms Online offers skincare advice to help your future hubby make sure he looks as confident and cute as ever!

How would you like a cake topper that really looks like you? I know we’ve featured some cool toppers in past entries, but I had to show you these. Instead of purchasing plastic figures that kinda, sorta, look like you two, how about having ones that are a splitting image. Unusually Creation takes your photos and creates a figurine in your likeness. They’d also be great as unique favors.

I told my husband that it is tradition for the bride and groom to exchange gifts on the day of their wedding. At that time, I had visions of those heart-melting photos. The ones where the bride gets a surprise gift from her soon-to-be husband and everyone is in tears. But then I forgot about all of that when he bought me the most awesome present–a laptop I’ve always wanted. And so I started off my early wife days feeling guilty.

So what’s the 411 on bride and grooms giving gifts to each other? Well traditionally, women get jewelry and the groom gets a watch to wear on their wedding day. But gifts can range anywhere from extremely pricey earrings to inexpensive but thoughtful gifts such as a photo album. And etiquette says it’s best to discuss this with your loved one to make sure you’re on the same page, or else you’ll end up empty handed like me.

I had a lot of place cards left that I didn’t use. One thing you could do is to leave your loved one little notes on the place cards to let them know you’re thinking about them. And, whether it’s an expensive bracelet or golf clubs, the gift doesn’t really matter so much as if you’re doing it from the heart. You’ll be getting enough gifts anyway from your guests, so the best thing to do is to do something personal that’s sure to make them feel special.

Photo from WeddingChannel.com.